Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
In 1997, an impossible mathematics equation was presented as a challenge to students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It was solved by the janitor, a literal genius and total babe, whose abusive childhood and bro-y social life were the only things standing between him and living up to his potential.
Four years later, a sorority girl got dumped by the man she thought she was going to marry, so she decided she would instead go to Harvard Law School, because as luck would have it, she was actually super smart.
Will Hunting and Elle Woods. Two outsiders when it came to the college system. Two people who took fancy Massachusetts schools of higher learning by storm and emerged victorious (in one way or another). As private and public colleges alike become more and more expensive, and the cost/benefit analysis of a college education becomes more lopsided, the stories in Good Will Hunting and Legally Blonde look more and more like superheroes in their ability to crush it at college. But which one did it better? Time to observe some criteria!
College of Choice
As stated above, Elle Woods attended Harvard Law School and did so through a rigorous application process that seemed far too daunting for a sorority girl — even one so clearly accomplished and driven as she was. The story of Elle Woods is ultimately the story of indomitable will and confidence triumphing over all.
Meanwhile, working as the nighttime janitor, Will Hunting seemingly fell ass-backwards into an M.I.T. education. …Or did he?? He eventually gets called out for his performative indifference to higher education. Sean (Robin Williams) challenges why Will would take a 40-minute train ride to mops floors at M.I.T., of all places, if he didn’t give a shit about higher education. The parts where Sean calls out Will are the best parts of Good Will Hunting, come at me.
Advantage: Elle Woods. While talking about law school versus undergrad is a bit like comparing apples and oranges, Harvard is Harvard. And Elle should get points for her forthrightness.
Financial Aid
Elle was able to attend Harvard Law, of course, because she comes from money, which is really the only acceptable reason to hate Elle Woods. Well, that and her awful little rat dog.
Will, however, manages to get all the M.I.T. education he can manage, all while they pay him to clean the toilets. Sure, he won’t end up getting a degree out of it, but just as Elle has an inherent advantage with her wealth, so Will has an inherent advantage with his genius-level intellect.
Advantage: Will Hunting,
Core Curriculum
Elle is studying law, which, as evidenced by her class taught by Holland Taylor, is neither easy nor all that fun, when you get down into the academics of it. Of course, Will is studying theoretical mathematics or something or other. Which seems excruciating, even though he makes it look easy. Honestly, they both seem pretty brutal.
Advantage: Draw.
Faculty Advisors
Elle has the aforementioned Holland Taylor, who plays a hardass but is ultimately good and fair and benevolent.
And then she ends up interning for Professor Callahan (Victor Garber), who offers to let her help on a real case. Of course, he turns out to be a sexually-harrassing scumbag, so that’s no good.
Meanwhile, Will has the well-meaning, if occasionally intellectually blinkered, Dr. Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgard) in his corner, not to mention Sean Maguire, who ultimately hugs him into compliance.
Advantage: Will Hunting
Practical Applications
Even considering what a creep Callahan is, Elle gets some fantastic real-world experience working on the Brooke Windham case. And after Elle’s cross-examination of Chutney blows the case wide open, she’s bound to get some national attention for her legal skills.
Will goes on some job interviews that her purposefully sabotages in order to make a point about his independence or whatever. And then at the end of the movie, he heads out to California to “see about a girl.” We’re supposed to feel like this is a triumph, assuming that he can get any kind of job that he wants (which he can), but he still has shown no ability or inclination to actually hold down a job.
Advantage: Elle Woods
Extracurriculars
By which of course we mean romance. Elle ends up with Emmett, a well-meaning doof of a man played by well-meaning doof Luke Wilson, who is not convincing as a lawyer for even one fraction of a second. He’s very nice to her, though, and he lets her be the alpha, and he also quits Callahan’s firm once he finds out what a creepo he is.
Will meets Skylar (Minnie Driver) at a Harvard bar, and their relationship is sexy and challenging and frustrating, and he resents her for having money, and she nails this scene in response:
They break up because he’s an ass with bad underpants, but ultimately he heads out to Stanford at the end of the movie to get her back. Which honestly assumes she hasn’t already found a new boyfriend, which she probably has, because she’s great.
Advantage: Will Hunting
Independent Study
One of the big lessons in both Legally Blonde and Good Will Hunting is how the college experience is supposed to make the student more independent. Will takes a long time to learn this lesson and basically needs his BFF Ben Affleck to tell him to get the hell out of Boston before he gets it. Elle, however, travels across the country to attend Harvard, deals with being a pink fish out of water, and then still manages to successfully integrate her sorority past in order to help her in her legal future.
Advantage: Elle Woods
Commencement Exercises
Honestly, we didn’t intend for it to shake out this way, but the above scorecard reads 3 for Elle, 3 for Will, and 1 draw. So we’re leaving it up to you. Who did college better?
